newsletter13th March 2014

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Simon LeslieHeadmaster

Dear ISHCMC Community

THE GREAT GATSBY

The Great Gatsby event at the Intercontinental hotel was a night to remember. A big ‘thank you’ to all who supported the event, both ISHCMC staff and parents, and indeed our school orchestra who welcomed everyone on the night. The dancing, music, presentations and the unique layout of the ballroom, along with of course some spectacular 1920’s dresses and suits made this a night to remember and will live in the minds of the ISHCMC community for a long time to come. A special ‘thank you’ also to our marketing team and our facilities management team who worked so hard, and creatively to ensure a successful evening.

PTO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Congratulations to every member of the ISHCMC community who was involved in such a successful International Festival on Saturday. There was a great sense of pride exuding from every country booth as I strolled around the campus. There were also some wonderful smells from the food that had been prepared! It was another example of how our school enjoys coming together as one community.

ART EXHIBITION

We have continued to celebrate this week with the annual Art Exhibition in our MPR. All students from EE2/3 up to Year 8 displayed a piece of work and students in years 9-11 who are studying Art also displayed their work. Congratulations to our Art teachers for their support and direction in assisting our students to exhibit, and of course to all of our artists for allowing us all to enjoy their talent.

CAR PARK LEASE

At the end of this academic year we shall no longer have use of the car park across the creek opposite Riverside. The car park belongs to Riverside and the new owner of Riverside is planning to develop the piece of land. ISHCMC has negotiated a long term lease for a new parking area. It is on So 11 past the ‘loaves and the fishes’ on the left hand side driving away from the school. The advantage of this land is that it has street access to both So 10 and So 11. This will enable parents who use the car park to enter and exit from So 11 to So 10 using it as a one way route. During the next few weeks the land will be established as a car park. As soon as it is ready for use I will inform the community.

Before the commencement of the new academic year we shall review the way that our traffic is managed during the afternoons. We will advise parents in due course of any changes.

With kind regards.

Simon

The GreaT GaTsby evenT

more photos at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.614206535324336.1073741852.156319557779705&type=1

PTO InTernaTIOnal FesTIvalCoconut tosses, hockey shootouts, henna tattoos, fancy dress ups in cultural attire, visiting a Maori meeting house, Cathay Pacific lucky draw, quizzes galore, delicious food tastings plus many more games, activities and creative displays made for a very festive spirit at the International Festival 2014. Twenty-seven countries participated this year decorating booths and treating ISHCMC students, families, teachers and staff to a trip around the world in an afternoon.

Many thanks to the PTO cultural representatives and all those who joined in to help design, decorate and work shifts at the country booths. The work of many made the event a big success, and we broke a record this year with over 1700 people attending! Hats off to Mr. Tang and his staff for their hard work and overtime preparing for the festival.

We sincerely appreciate the continued support of our event sponsors – Coca Cola, Fun Fruit World, Global Café, Kido, Friesland Campina, Family Medical Practice and Saigon Van.

Ginny CondraPTO Cultural Representative

ISHCMCPTO

INTERNATIONALFESTIVAL

A journey around the world in one afternoon!

Thank you toour event sponsors!

and Shalom Coffee & Cocoafor your support

PTO cITy bus TOur“This is the street I have been hunting for so long to buy some sport equipment” screamed Nga, a new ISHCMC mum. We were on the ISHCMC PTO newcomers bus tour. As we forgot all language barriers, each one of us was planning to visit new cafes and tailors together,while others were marking their calendars to go on future shopping trips.....once again the PTO newcomers bus tour was a great success.....

Anjana GomesPTO Newcomers Representative.

ISHCMC PTO City Bus TourTuesday, 11th March, 2014.

8:30 am -11:30 am

RSVP to Anjana Gomes at anjaanag@gmail.com or +84 01655040297 by Friday 7th March, 2014

Visiting Dist.2 and Dist.1 (markets, tailors, book-shops, outing for weekends, movies, Museums...)

Water and snacks provided

Reservation is required

an uPdaTe FrOm Our early exPlOrers 2 and 3Our Unit of Inquiry is ‘We use our senses to explore the world’

This week we are learning more about our ears and our sense of hearing. We have talked about what we can hear? Why our ears are important? How we can look after our ears? e.g. Very loud sounds can hurt our ears. We discussed how some people cannot hear and we covered our ears with our hands to see how hard this would be.

Outside with the help of some children we created a Music station using a bamboo ladder and objects from the classroom . We attached a large metal pot, a piece of bamboo, a cheese grater, a plastic bottle, a metal tea pot, a wooden box and a plastic basket. The children are exploring the different sounds that theses object make using chopsticks and thicker pieces of doweling. A small group of children suggested that the large pot makes a sound like the dragon dance, while others talked about having a concert… let’s see where this leads!!!

Some children suggested that we make a dragon dance and needed to make the head of the dragon. We talked about what we would need and what it would look like. We gathered together all the resources needed. In creating our dragon heads the children used the cutting; dying; gluing and stapling skills. On Friday we danced to dragon dance music and there were lots of creative dragon moves.

Sounds from home.We asked the children to bring some from home that makes a sound. Some children brought traditional instruments such as a guitar, ukulele, xylophone and a drum. Others brought created sounds using bottles with stones in them and paper towel tubes. We created our own mini orchestra’s and played for our class mates.

Making drums.We are all making a drum from a big tin. This involved gluing paper on the outside, painting and then decorating them.

Visitors sharing their expertiseMs Alicia invited us to her music room to explore different musical instrument and introduced us to her classroom.

We invited Mr Matamu over to share his knowledge and expertise in drumming. He showed the children his drum sticks and asked if anyone knew what they were? One of children replied “chopsticks.”Mr Matamu demonstrated tempo, volume and rhythm.

Mr Scott Rogal and his students visited to share their instruments and demonstrated how they could be played.

sOuTh easT asIan maThemaTIcs cOmPeTITIOn

The South East Asian Mathematics Competition was conducted in Ho Chi Minh City during 27 February to 2 March. 276 students, belonging to 46 schools from 8 countries, gathered in the city to compete over two days at the British Vietnamese International School. The results of the six students representing our school, and one student representing Jakarta International School, were the best achieved for the two teams representing ISHCMC and were placed =10th and =16th out of 92 teams. The final results for the team competition are indicated below, with the host schools of Ho Chi Minh City indicated in red.

1 Hong Kong International School2 Garden International School KL3 Tran Dai Nghia Gifted School=4 Chinese International School, Hong Kong=4 South Island School, Hong Kong6 Bangkok Patana School7 Tran Dai Nghia Gifted School8 British Vietnamese International School9 Singapore Piaget Academy-Medan=10 British International School Ho Chi Minh City=10 International School Ho Chi Minh City12 Bangkok Patana School13 King George V School, Hong Kong14 Hong Kong International School15 Tanglin Trust School, Singapore=16 Renaissance College, Hong Kong=16 International School Ho Chi Minh City18 West Island School, Hong Kong19 UWCSEA East, Singapore20 South Island School, Hong Kong21 British International School, Jakarta

All the students were placed in the top 100 participants in the competition, with Jae Won SHIN being placed equal 19th in the individual competition. Congratulations to the Hee Chang HAN, Jin Gu KANG, Ye Ji KIM, Yeon Soo YANG, Jae Won SHIN, Ha Nuel CHOI and Chang Heon HAN on their excellent performance. Thank you to Mr Harris for providing them with support as they prepared for the competition.

Rae DeelySecondary Maths Teacher

sIsac crOss cOunTry meeTCongratulations to our Primary students for their superb performances in Tuesday’s SISAC Cross Country Meet! Our U11 girls finished FIRST and SISAC Champions! The young boys’ team also ran well, and we are waiting for the complete individual and team results for both girls’ & boys’ 1.1 kilometre races.

Special thanks and recognition goes to our two parent coaches - JW Winkelhuijzen & Alexandre Brauner - for all their efforts in training the students on early Tuesday mornings at Parklands! Alexandre was also able to attend the races yesterday, as our runners appreciated his coaching advice and great support. Thanks also to Ashley Moreno for joining us and acting as our “female chaperone!” And to Trina Fryer & Karen Smit for being there and taking some photos.

>> technology report

hOw IPads have enhanced classrOOm learnInG

In The PrImary classrOOms aT IshcmciPads are quickly becoming an important and powerful educational tool in the primary classrooms at ISHCMC. Digital learning is a key skill in the 21st century and using iPads in the classroom has been ideal for promoting new ways of learning.

The iPad is a perfect digital tool for our young learners because it’s small, portable, visual and hands-on; which in my mind makes it a more practical and versatile tool for primary school students compared to laptops. So, how has it changed the learning in my classroom?

The benefits go far beyond engaging students. Whilst there are a tremendous range of games developed for use on the iPad, I want my students to see the iPad as a way to create their own content rather than to be merely consumers. I avoid using it as a form of entertainment, but rather as a way to channel students’ interests in a productive way. We use our iPads for discovery, creation and collaborative learning.

iPads are excellent for developing research skills and have become an integral part of my guided reading circles at all levels. Less cumbersome and more effective than dictionaries, we often use google translate or google images when coming across unknown words or concepts. My students are becoming increasingly independent in their learning, able to use the iPad as a source of reference, rather than asking adults.

Having iPads in the classroom has helped to nurture self-expression and creativity in the ways that we present writing, particularly with the apps iMovie and Comic Life. Because of the simple (yet powerful) interface of iMovie, my 8-year olds students have proved impressively capable and independent when creating their own collaborative films. Allowing children to make their own movies is a great activity to develop their creative, technical and cooperative skills. The students in my class have made several short films on the school campus, including a zombie movie!

The iPads have also enriched my approach to developing factual writing skills. Comic Life is another one of my favourite apps – it is a publishing program installed on all the iPads, which allows students to create posters or comic books. This app allows you to easily insert photos, text and speech into a range of template pages. The finished products look professional and give the students a real sense of achievement. We use this app throughout our Units of Inquiry to publish their thinking. This can range from pre-assessments to summative assessments as well as ongoing independent inquiries. Some examples in our classroom include going on a 3D shape hunt, excursion recounts, explaining findings gathered from interviews, an investigation into plant roots, writing up science investigations and many more! Using Comic Life has helped to enrich the unit being presented and enables my students to explain their answers in a unique and creative way. For me, the iPad is a great way to integrate technology in the classroom and to foster naturally curiosity and creative thinking in students. I’m really excited about its potential and look forward to extending its use further.

Catherine BrownGrade 2 Teacher

InTeGraTIOn OF TechnOlOGy In myP desIGn TechnOlOGyHere at ISHCMC, technology is at the forefront of education in every classroom. From iPads and computers in primary classes to the one-to-one tablet program for secondary school, the students have several opportunities to explore technology on an everyday basis. They have the prospect of experiencing modern equipment, which is widely used in industry today.

In Design Technology this year, a new video studio area has been created. It has a news broadcast set, a green screen infinity wall and soundproof walls. We have also added new GoPro cameras, DSLR high definition cameras and many accessories to help those future directors, producers and actors realize their dreams. This will allow us to produce news broadcasts and create special effects for movies and videos, hence expanding the range of projects that can be done by the students.

We have also added a new 3D printer to the Design Technology classroom. Students are designing 3D computer aided designs and printing 3D models. This is truly an innovative step, which ISHCMC is leading into the future. 3D printing is still relatively new, but it is important to stay current to what is ground breaking in schools today. Even President Obama highlighted 3D printing as the wave of the future, something that could fuel new high-tech jobs everywhere.

Lego Mindstorms robot kits are also a new addition. This will allow students to create new, innovative robots and to develop their ingenuity. These kits are versatile in what they offer. They can be used by young students to learn how to follow steps, yet complex enough for older students to build intricate machines. Another truly state-of-the-art addition to the classroom.

International School Ho Chi Minh City is evidently a forerunner in terms of technology in the classroom. By providing high-tech equipment to the students, we allow the potential of the learners to be limitless.

The following paper also points to integration and cooperation between the departments of Mathematics and DT.

Frank HuaICT Teacher

FuTure enGIneers aT wOrk The most common question we get from our students is, “When will you use this in the real world?” In most traditional math classes, the students are asked to calculate numbers without really having a purpose or goal. However, at ISHCMC, our classrooms have become a more innovative place where students are asked to solve more complex problems relating them to real life situations. This year, in the 9th grade class, I felt like I had a group of future engineers in front of me. They always analyzed products and thought of ways to make things better and more efficient. With access to a 3d printer, I thought, “Why don’t we create our own products while applying the problem solving and logic skills they use in math class? “

We did just that. The goal of the project was to invent something that would be useful, economic, environmental, and efficient. The class decided to break into 5 groups creating a cable organizer, a headphone organizer, a phone amplifier, a toothpaste squeezer, and a light attachment for reading glasses. They had to research and think about the best design that would use the least amount of material but still work to the best of its ability. Math lingo wise, they had to find the volume of the object, work with dimensions, and found that they needed to know certain calculations, such as trigonometry, geometry, and calculus, in order to get the volume as accurate as possible.

Some images of the items created are shown below.

Throughout their journey, they asked some great questions that they posed on their own. “How do you find the volume of a hyperbaloid?” “How do you find the area of a segment?” “How do you know the measure of the angle if you know the length of a side?” “How much larger do I need to make the casing for a phone to be snug?” “Do I need to convert my measurements? “ “How accurate do I need to be?” “How can I reduce the material used but still make it keep its shape?” “Will this work?”

The buzz of the 3d printer was going around the school and everyone walked through to see what was going on, as the printer was often going throughout the school day. Because of that, students who were not in my class thought of all the things they could have created themselves. Everyone was intrigued by this new technological advancement and felt that ISHCMC was taking a step in the right direction to create inquirers and life-long learners.

Clara NgoMathematics Teacher

ConclusionThese are just a selection of a range of interesting things being done. Teachers need support and encouragement and specific programmes such as “Research and Development” provide simple ways to provide some. Publication and sharing of ideas is clearly important. With appropriate support teacher work groups will explore and experiment, and the budget needs to be set to have flexibility to support this.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

WITH MUSIC FROM THE SILVER SCREEN

HCMC OPERA HOUSEMARCH 18TH - 6PM

100,000 VNDTICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FROM SCHOOL RECEPTION

FROM MARCH 3RD BETWEEN 8AM TO 4PM

ISHCMCGALACONCERT

YOU’RE INVITED

celebrating

20years ofsuccess1993 - 2013

www.loretovietnam.orgl i f t i n g l e a r n e r s i n t o t h e f u t u r e

S c h o o l Y e a r 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5

Annual LoretoScholarship Appeal

for vision-impaired, hearing-impaired and intellectually disabled students

Sponsor a child for one year for only 2 million VNDEach donor will receive a scholarship certificate with a photo of their sponsored child.

Please place donations in a sealed envelope clearly marked “Loreto” and add your full name and homeroom. Please hand to Secondary Secretary or Primary Homeroom Teacher.

by Friday 21st March

Ishcmc dOnaTes Old schOOl unIFOrms

Lanterns Restaurant was established in 2008 with the sole purpose of raising money to support local Orphanages in Khanh Hoa Province. The profits raised go towards sponsoring an education program for Orphaned Children, who would never have the opportunity of achieving further education.

Orphanage visits are easily be arranged should you wish to drop by as we have daily trips to over 12 Orphanages in the area. We can also help with placements if you would like to help out at any of the Orphanages. Lanterns doesn’t accept direct contributions, however we are more than happy helping you take any items (whether it be food, nappies, milk formula of clothes) to any of the Orphanages we sponsor.

Please feel free to call Robert on 097 978 2923 or visit our website at www.lanternsvietnam.com for further details.

Please click on the hyperlink for access to our latest newsletter.

https://www.facebook.com/download/333177126819674/Lanterns%20Newsletter%20-%20Jul.Aug%202013.pdf

Recently ISHCMC sent donated old uniforms to Anh Dao Orphanage in Ninh Hoa (about an hour north of Nha Trang) and the Phat Buu Orphanage which is on the way to Cam Ranh (south of Nha Trang). Uniforms were also delivered to a very poor community in the countryside which is about an hour inland. The poor community was brought to our attention through a local charity group called “Haly Hely”.